Skinbreaker #2 – A Heartbreaking Passing of Leadership

The Essentials:

• What is the Skinbreaker?
• Who is Anok?
• What is the Skinbreaker Challenge?

Skinbreaker #2:

After an emotional issue #1, Skinbreaker is back this week and there’s a challenge on the table. Anok has challenged his chieftan to the death for the right to hold the Skinbreaker and lead his tribe. But Anok must kill his mentor in an impossible choice to save and lead the tribe so that others may not try to take control.

Creative Team:

Writer: Robert Kirkman

Artist: David Finch

Color Artist: Annalisa Leoni

Letters: Rus Wooton

Publisher: IMAGE COMICS/SKYBOUND ENT

The Art:

David Finch’s work never fails to astonish and amaze. The motion in the faces of our main protagonists, coupled with all the small details of this savage world is something very few artists can do. And no one does it like Finch.

The mix of the frail with the powerful in the same scene is something only a master artist could convey through his or her work.

The reluctance of Anok, someone who is clearly a good, moral man, as he unwillingly takes the title of chieftan from his mentor and dear friend. All these hybrid moments really play into Finch’s strengths here!

READ MORE: SKINBREAKER #1 – A RELUCTANT HERO

The Writing:

Talk about Kirkman making us grown adults tear up over a comic book! When you couple Finch’s amazing artwork with Kirkman’s emotional writing, you get a true masterpiece.

There’s a moment in the first third of the book when you see the pain from both Anok and his mentor, who is begging him to fight him and take over as chiftan.

It is as emotional as one can get in comics. You absolutely forget that what you are reading is about a completely fictional world and the characters you feel for in your soul aren’t real at all, except in your imagination. It’s truly a beautiful thing.

This issue is all about passing the torch in the most heartbreaking way and that’s really where Kirkman has always done his best work.

Overall Grade: 9.5/10

This book is something special. Kirkman and Finch really are true masters of their craft. The emotion and action both ooze off the page and crawl into the deepest parts of your brain and your heart. This book is more like an experience and a journey than a comic book.